What the NBA Draft Lottery Reform Means for the Celtics Right Now

Since taking over as commissioner, Adam Silver has made it clear that he feels teams should not be tanking for top picks in the draft. It gives the league a bad look, especially in nationally televised games when star players are sitting on the bench. There isn’t enough league-wide competition, which Silver hopes to end.

To combat tanking, he has recently proposed a reform for the NBA’s draft lottery. Breaking it down simply, all he wants is other teams who aren’t in the bottom four of the league to have a higher chance of falling into the lottery than they currently do. This reform would also give the three worst teams in the NBA the same exact odds of landing the top pick, as opposed to the current odds we have now (1: 25%, 2: 19.9%, 3: 15.6%).

If this rule is to pass, it wouldn’t take place during the 2018 draft. Luckily for the Celtics, that 2018 Lakers pick will be their last top pick for a while if it conveys (2-5).

I like this rule change for a few reasons. One, it would obviously make basketball more fun to watch. The league needs more competition. Two, you wouldn’t have the same bottom feeders in the league year in and year out, which always has bugged the hell out of me. And three, almost every decision Adam Silver has made so far has come to better the league. I trust that his plan would work out pretty well.